190 SANTAREM. Cuap. VIII, 
extends as far as the eye can reach towards the yet untrodden interior. 
Some of these hills are long ridges, wooded or bare ; others are isolated 
conical peaks, rising abruptly from the valley. The highest are probably 
not more than a thousand feet above the level of the river. One 
remarkable hill, the Serra de Muruara, about fifteen miles from Santarem, 
which terminates the prospect to the south, is of the same truncated 
pyramidal form as the range of hills near Almeyrim. Complete solitude 
reigns over the whole of this stretch of beautiful country. The in- 
habitants of Santarem know nothing of the interior, and seem to feel 
little curiosity concerning it. A few tracks from the town across the 
campo lead to some small clearings four or five miles off, belonging to 
the poorer inhabitants of the place ; but, excepting these, there are no 
roads, or signs of the proximity of a civilised settlement. 
The sandy soil and scanty clothing of trees are probably the causes 
of the great dryness of the climate. In some years no rain falls from 
August to February; whilst in other parts of the Amazons plains, both 
above and below this middle part of the river, heavy showers are fre- 
quent throughout the dry season. I have often watched the rain-clouds 
in November and December, when the shrubby vegetation is parched 
up by the glowing sun of the preceding three months, rise as they ap- 
proached the hot air over the campos, or diverge from it to discharge 
their contents on the low forest-clad islands of the opposite shore. The 
trade-wind, however, blows with great force during the dry months ; the 
hotter the weather the stronger is the breeze, until towards the end of 
the season it amounts to a gale, stopping the progress of downward- 
bound vessels. 
Some of the trees which grow singly on the campos are very curious. 
The caju is very abundant ; indeed, some parts of the district might be 
called orchards of this tree, which seems to prefer sandy or gravelly 
soils. There appear to be several distinct species of it growing in 
company, to judge by the differences in the colour, flavour, and size of 
the fruit. This, when ripe, has the colour and figure of a codlin apple, 
but it has a singular appearance owing to the large kidney-shaped kernel 
growing outside the pulpy portion of the fruit. It ripens in January, 
and the poorer classes of Santarem then resort to the campos and gather 
immense quantities, to make a drink or ‘‘wine,” as it is called, which is 
considered a remedy in certain cutaneous disorders. The kernels are 
roasted and eaten. Another wild fruit-tree is the Murishi (Byrsomina), 
which yields an abundance of small yellow acid berries. A decoction 
of its bark dyes cloth a maroon colour. It is employed for this purpose 
chiefly by the Indians, and coarse cotton shirts tinted with it were the 
distinctive badges of the native party during the revolution. A very 
common tree in the Ilhas do Mato is the Breio branco, which secretes 
from the inner bark a white resin, resembling camphor in smell and 
appearance. The fruit is a small black berry, and the whole tree, fruit, 
leaf, and stem, has the same aromatic fragrance. By loosening the 
bark and allowing the resin to flow freely, I collected a large quantity, 
and found it of great service in preserving my insect collections from 
the attacks of ants and mites. Another tree, much rarer than the Breio 
branco, namely the Umiri (Humirium floribundum), growing in the same 
